O.O .... Wow, EvilAshLives, the detail.... just, wow! I am going to shamelessly drool over your costume as reference pictures for my current project. I won a (sadly nude and de-masked) Michael Crawford Ken doll on Ebay recently, and I'm determined to make him a beautiful, accurate and complete Michael Crawford wardrobe. Your cravat close-ups are amazingly helpful! Also, love the almost watered silk of the evening waistcoat fabric. Bravo, sir!

And Mellyflower - I should probably mention your Spoonflower page has been perpetually in my favourites since the fabric was released. One day, when my sewing skills are up to scratch, I'm going to try the wishing gown... One day...*laughs manaically* Your costume is wonderful!

Aha, your secret is Velcro, Monsieur! *rubs hands together in elation* Thanks for taking the time to post pictures, EvilAshLives - that makes live much easier for me with my current project. I've never had to make a cravat for a man with a 2 inch neck measurement before! I'm quite tempted to cheat with it, as the 1998 licensed Phantom Ken doll did and simply sew it to the shirt, but I've some little velcro dots small enough to make this work!

Thought I'd better establish my actual costume-making credentials here,with my first and only Phantom costume for humans - the Christine dressing down, complete with Hannibal bodice underneath. I remember, I was so proud of this costume when I made it, although I can see so much wrong with it now - the terrible seams, the sagging trim...the fact I sewed the hem ruffle on unevenly in a blind panic the night before and didn't notice until afterwards! But this was a pet project of mine that i learnt a lot from, and I made it in a fit of enthusiasm to pay homage to the fact we actually had a UK tour come to Manchester. Turned out the costumes for the tour didn't look much better when I DID see it, but oh well

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So here we go - the bodice! I was and still am proud of the bodice embroidery details. I based it on the pattern of the original Sarah Brightman costume, and I used plenty of tips from the internet lovely Phantom Costumers - one, a lovely lady called ArtistKae who used to be on Tumblr. She had a lovely helpful tutorial on what commerical patterns were a good basis for the gown, as well as a page showing how she drafted her Hannibal bodice. I based my pattern loosely on hers! I also took huge swathes of reference ideas from Anea's Phantom Costume Design page. The beads on the straps were strange curtain hold-backs that I found in a fabric shop. I then attacked them with lots of glitzy nail varnish to get them the right colours. Again, I think I referenced Anea's wonderful website for this very useful tip. She was my costume guru for the whole making process - thanks, Anea! Sadly, as you can see, the pieces weren't exactly even, but I made do as the date for seeing Phantom came closer. I also used detachable 'invisible bra' straps for the actual straps for the bodice - although it held up pretty well without it.

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The dressing gown - this was made almost solely using ArtistKae's advice for customising vintage Butterick pattern B5152, which is now out-of-print. I used some special gorgeous net lace I'd hoarded from my days volunteering as a student at my local theatre's costume hire for the engageante sleeves. The perks of that job were amazing!The mannequin stood in my student kitchen and terrified my flatmates every time they went in the kitchen at night.

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The non-Peter Fox shoes - although I think there were a decent substitute. I looked up vintage 80s bridal court shoes on Ebay and found a plain white satin pair, and then simply bought some ribbon clips for the front. They look rather like a white version of Snow White's Disney Princess shoes, but definitely made me feel like an ingenue in them. I think the total cost for these was about £25 - not bad when you think how much the real thing are!

And the finished thing! I wore it to the UK tour in Manchester at the Palace Theatre. Sadly, the wig there isn't looking at its best. I thought it was pretty snazzy at the time, but it is definitely a wig. And that picture is artfully photographed to hide the fact that hem ruffle looks like a roller coaster at the back. But it was my first 'phan costume' - and I was proud of it as a first try. Shame about the UK tour, but I guess you can't have everything.

saw that while diffing around online for Halloween makeup, was kind of surprised, thought that would have been copyrighted or something, it is very close, surely close enough to use, but that lip looks huge, maybe its a bad angle.

Recently saw first hand some of the Broadway makeup foam pieces, they definitely have stopped making them to the actor's face as all the ones I saw had a flat bottom, as if made on something flat, not a face mould. Also was a bit surprised at the lack of apparent detail, seems most detail these days is painted on.

Finally got around to adding a securing mechanism to my cape so it'll stay on my shoulders. The method I used is (I believe) something similar to what is done with the stage capes and which was first used on Bela Lugosi's Dracula cape. This setup allows me to fasten the straps under my arms and behind my back, securing them with parachute clips. I can also tighten and loosen the straps as necessary. My execution was a bit crude (I'm not a skilled sewer), but hey, it works!

saw that while diffing around online for Halloween makeup, was kind of surprised, thought that would have been copyrighted or something, it is very close, surely close enough to use, but that lip looks huge, maybe its a bad angle.

Recently saw first hand some of the Broadway makeup foam pieces, they definitely have stopped making them to the actor's face as all the ones I saw had a flat bottom, as if made on something flat, not a face mould. Also was a bit surprised at the lack of apparent detail, seems most detail these days is painted on.

FX Warehouse has been producing those for a couple of years now. I have a set of the original prosthetics they put out, and the updated photo looks like they redid the sculpt and added more detail to it.

So I hope this is okay (I read the forum rules and couldn't find any reference to NOT being allowed to post this).

After doing a big clean-out of my hoard of costumes and sewing supplies, I found my old Hannibal Princess costume I made in collaboration with littlelotty004. I don't want to hold onto it because I know I won't wear it, but neither am I willing to just dispose of it because a lot of time, effort, love and FABRIC went into it!

So I was wondering if anyone might be interesting in purchasing it? I wouldn't be asking much, probably around $50 plus shipping costs. The construction is sturdy and the fabric used is mostly good quality satin, and the dress features beautiful waterfall drapery at the back. But there are flaws--the dress is unlined, the hem is trimmed in hand-painted lace which has since become stiff and unsightly (though it's easily removed) and the bust cups were sewn in two pieces. Also it's in desperate need to be worn with a hoop skirt.

If anyone is interested, please PM me. I'm located in Australia so shipping can be quite expensive, but I'm open to negotiations on the price.

So after a couple years way from POTO land, I've been busy lately getting geared up for an appearance at PhantomCon. I commissioned a new, replica Phantom costume by Enchanted Sea Studiowhich just came in and it is BEAUTIFUL! Check out that link for more information on how she went about constructing the tail suit. Also, I did a thorough video tour below:

Also, I FINALLY finished that second wig project that I originally started in 2007/2008. I considered it again in 2011, but ran away from it screaming. But PhantomCon and the elevation of my costuming game meant fixing the issues on my original wig, so I dusted off Valentino 2 and put the finishing touches on it tonight...which I was happy about.

(NEVER AGAIN I MEAN WHY DID I WANT TO MAKE A WIG ANYWAY LET ALONE TWO WHAT A SILLY THING TO DO GOOD HEAVENS THAT WAS HIGHLY UNNECESSARY)

Video about the wigs:

I also took the opportunity to film a few more informational videos:- Casting Gelatin and Liquid Latex Phantom Prosthetics- Painting and Applying Do-It-Yourself Phantom Prosthetics- Planning Your Phantom of the Opera Costume/Cosplay

Well, I really haven't started anything, I need to learn how to sew properly and until now, I've just been peeking around for fabrics and everything. But since you're encouraging, I'll do my best to keep on going and not giving up

So I hope this is okay (I read the forum rules and couldn't find any reference to NOT being allowed to post this).

After doing a big clean-out of my hoard of costumes and sewing supplies, I found my old Hannibal Princess costume I made in collaboration with littlelotty004. I don't want to hold onto it because I know I won't wear it, but neither am I willing to just dispose of it because a lot of time, effort, love and FABRIC went into it!

So I was wondering if anyone might be interesting in purchasing it? I wouldn't be asking much, probably around $50 plus shipping costs. The construction is sturdy and the fabric used is mostly good quality satin, and the dress features beautiful waterfall drapery at the back. But there are flaws--the dress is unlined, the hem is trimmed in hand-painted lace which has since become stiff and unsightly (though it's easily removed) and the bust cups were sewn in two pieces. Also it's in desperate need to be worn with a hoop skirt.

If anyone is interested, please PM me. I'm located in Australia so shipping can be quite expensive, but I'm open to negotiations on the price.

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Oh definitely OK to share that here. I think it's the first time I've seen a replica of the Hannibal Princess costume, how awesome!

And Phantom on a Budget, holy wow. There are no words. (<--- positive shock)

_________________JOSEFINE TO THE PHANTOM:You come off as... somewhat... rough...

Irina de France wrote:From what I gather - the new Masquerade shoes are a prank, right?

From how I understood it: it was an emergency solution that day. The other option would have been Christine's black boots, which would have been more of a crash.

That said, I hope the feedback given gave an indication of the frustration many phans has felt when seeing them doing similar changes to the restaged tour costumes. They've used similar shoes for Christine there, along with long white satin gloves, a prom queen tiara and a stripped down bodice. So I can see why people felt the shoes Rachel Zatcoff posted a photo of could be the start of a major overhaul, and reacted negatively. BUUUT as mentioned, I think it was an emergency solution more than a prank or a permanent change.